


The Labyrinth OCT - Scourge

by CHAOSCRITTER



Category: The Labyrinth OCT
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-03
Updated: 2019-10-10
Packaged: 2020-11-22 17:37:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,969
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20878103
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CHAOSCRITTER/pseuds/CHAOSCRITTER
Summary: DeviantArt is weird about pdfs so I'm posting my rounds here as a back-up for members and spectators!





	1. Round ONE

**Author's Note:**

> Who is Scourge?  
https://www.deviantart.com/chaoscritter/art/Scourge-Reference-for-Labyrinth-790924875
> 
> What is the context here?  
https://www.deviantart.com/chaoscritter/art/Layrinth-Audition-01-791712229
> 
> What is The Labyrinth OCT?  
https://www.deviantart.com/labyrinth-oct

**Prologue**

Scourge slammed another plate onto the table, freshly picked clean. She’d been in this human body for some time now, but it was still strange.

Breathing alone was frustrating to get used to. There were no baby steps to it either, because trying to stop just hurt until her body forced her to start again. When it came to anything she could physically avoid, she had originally put it off for as long as possible, hoping that she could win the water before it became a problem.

Well, it did become a problem.

As it turned out, the lightheadedness, nausea, and fatigue weren’t the result of her terminally unfortunate circumstances. She’d been starving and dehydrated.

A large, blue creature had originally identified the issue after quite an embarrassing stumble she’d taken while feeling particularly light-headed. If she has to face him as a competitor later, she’ll be sure to thank him before he’s destroyed. Or maybe even spare that little leafy scrap that follows him around. It’s kind of cute. Regardless, it was clear that the mind of a mechanical creature should never  _ ever _ be placed into something organic.

Scourge slid the pile of emptied plates away from her so that the staff knew to pick them up, and surveyed the ancient dining area she sat almost comfortably inside.

The restaurant was large and made of a similar carved stone as the rest of the labyrinth. The main difference was how clean and nicely furnished it was, with decorative glass lanterns lighting the inside. They were sheltered from the labyrinth’s harsh sun and the air was cool and smelled of fresh food.

Around her, dozens of creatures in varying shapes and sizes chatted amongst each other as they enjoyed their lunches. Many of them looked familiar by now. She had definitely run into several of the ‘other’ humans before. The little guys with the green hats she’s bumped into after Zol had fixed her ‘shattered rib’ and ‘internal bleeding,’ and the largest monsters were impossible to ignore.

One of which, a tall, brown, furry biped with a black tail was currently caught in some kind of drama. Leaning back to get a better view, Scourge could see that something had burned a hole through the table he’d been sharing with a couple other competitors, both of which looked pissed. Hilarious, but she took note to watch out for fire or acid if she had to fight him for the water. For now she just chuckled at the scene.

Then there were the robots ‘mr robo-potato’ or whatever, and the orange mech. Scourge bristled at how unfair it was that they got to keep their normal, and frankly, far more practical forms. Meanwhile she’d have to compete with this squishy mess of organic matter. Scourge rarely got jealous, but this almost felt like an insult.

Scourge sighed (something she’d never done before) and pushed her chair out from the table and took up. She needed something to do besides brooding and staring at people she didn’t know. God she was starting to act like Decimal.

Almost as if someone was reading her mind, she heard an odd scraping noise behind her head. She whipped around, tilting her head in curiosity, as a snake-like creature appeared abruptly in front of her, clinging effortlessly to the stone support beam next to her table. How long had it been camouflaged there? It’s skin looked rough and grainy like tree bark and it grinned at Scourge before lifting it’s head as high as it could without losing grip of its perch.

**Chapter 1**

Scourge wasted no time getting ready and heading to the spot Cuah had told her to wait. As promised, a crowd was starting to form near the center of the plaza and Scourge tapped her foot restlessly as Zol began to address the plaza.

Scourge was more than a little annoyed at the no killing rule, and would’ve much rather a combat or otherwise skill related task than one almost entirely based on luck. Regardless, she eyed the approaching doorlets intensely, and the moment Zol vanished, bolted through the closest portal.

A rush of hot, muggy air burst against her face as she was met with a narrow, stone hallway. It stretched out in front of her with several openings along the side, leading into even more corridors. A pang of discomfort burned at Scourge’s skin as she was no longer sheltered by the plaza. The sun beat down on her head and the humidity made breathing somehow more disgustingly unpleasant than it already was.

  
  


As she turned down one of the narrower passageways, climbing plants that grew from the crumbling walls offered some mild relief from the sun. After running far enough to be sure she wasn't followed, Scourge allowed herself to stop and rest for just a second. She leaned her back on the wall and slid down until she was sitting on the earthy ground, and waited for the burning in her chest to ease.

Tick

Tick

Tick

Scourge tapped absent-mindedly on the side of her headset. She knew pieces of her old Internal Computer were preserved inside, including her communicator. However every time she’d tried to contact Decimal so far,

Nothing.

It was no different this time ether. Probably for the best, he’d only berate her for abandoning her post, and likely brush off her current predicament as some kind of joke. An understandable accusation given her track record, but still not helpful. She would try contacting another havem.exe instead, but all of her other contacts read as unavailable, only Decimal seemed close enough for some kind of connection.   
  


As soon as Scourge caught her breath, she hauled herself back to her feet and started walking, humming a Guardeon tune to herself. After a good while of blind wandering she finally started seeing signs of the other competitors. Some footprints here, some scraps of fur there. Scourge itched to follow the trails and sounds, but she knew if they were still in the maze, then there likely wasn’t a door nearby. She’d have a better chance to stretch her (now non-existent) claws if she made it to the next round. For now she’d let the weakest competitors weed themselves out for her.

Scourge slipped away from the claw marks and muffled voices, ducking in and out of dead-ends and empty corridors until she was sure she was far away from everyone else.

The cowardly approach made her feel slimy and she started to regret turning away, but she’d wasted too much time to go back.

**Chapter 2**

The labyrinth was darker here, unnaturally so, and the walls were packed so tightly together that Scourge had to turn sideways just to squeeze through some passages. An area this ominous, she thought to herself, had to be hiding  _ something _ .

The shrubbery was near-non existent now, it was likely ether cleared out when the place was built, or was choked to death by the darkness. Looking up, Scourge wondered what could be blocking out the sun. It should still only be midday and she couldn’t make out a ceiling. The space above her simply vanished into black, like it had simply been removed from existence. The air was colder too, much colder. Scourge wrapped her arms around herself in annoyance.

Eventually she came to a stop, a few steps ahead of her the path she was following gave way to a gaping octagonal chasm. Curiously, Scourge cocked her head to the side and edged closer before squatted in front of the pit. The bottom was nowhere to be seen, and looked as blank and empty as the “sky” above her. Meanwhile where the ground reappeared at each of the eight sides, a new pathway began.

Scourge eyed each of the other seven platforms, straining her weak, human eyes to focus in the dim light. Most of them appeared the same, she could just make out the flat, grey stone floor leading away into darkness, with no clue as to what was further on. Perhaps this was the center of the maze? Scourge shrugged and turned back to the path she’d come from.

“Crap…” she muttered.

There  _ was _ no path behind her. Instead, a solid stone wall stood over her as if it’d always been there. Scourge felt a scrap of unease crawl its way up her back, but pushed the anxiety down before it could fully form. No way is a damn piece of earth going to trap her.

She looked the wall over for a moment, preparing to throw her weight into it.  _ Something _ had managed to move it there after all, so she’d just have to move it back.

Like the rest of the labyrinth, it was covered in elaborate carvings, though this one seemed a bit less like decoratory patterns and more like an illustrated scene. Near the top, a carving of a large staring eye peered directly down at her face, while dozens of intricately carved hands reached out from the floor to claw at its edges, dragging the helpless entity into an unknowable fate.

The longer Scourge stared, the more she could swear the hands were moving, scratching hungrily at the pleading stone eye. Her body felt heavier on her feet, and she momentarily thought she was going to plummet through the floor.

**Chapter 3**

When Scourge finally returned to her senses she was staring at a blank stone slab, blocking the path in front of her.

‘Oh right’, She thought. ‘That happened.’ She was still standing exactly where she had been before zoning out, but the carvings were gone and the wall was cleanly fused to the floor and walls on either side.

Scourge suddenly didn’t feel like being near that wall anymore. She wasn’t scared. Never! She just didn’t feel like dealing with any of that psychological warfare bullshit right that moment.

Turning around stiffly, she was both relieved and disappointed to find that the chasm was completely unchanged. There was no debating that she’d have to climb to one of the other walkways. Scourge held her hands out and looked down at her soft, stubby fingertips , disgusted at the weak flesh that had replaced her claws. Peering a little lower her gaze landed on her bracelets instead. The spiked accessories clamped solidly around her wrists glowed softly in the darkness, they were undoubtedly made from the same unique, unearthly metal that her species and homeworld were comprised of. Scourge focused on them intently.

[ACTIVATING OFFENSIVE MEASURES]

On command the glowing grew stronger and the metal began to soften and remold inself, somehow without burning Scourge’s skin. They climbed up her wrists and wrapped around her fingerless gloves. It was only a second before they hardened again.

Scourge blinked the spots out of her vision as the glow faded and the darkness enveloped her again, then studied her hands. They were now sporting three long, needle-like spikes that were protruding from her palms. Not exactly impressive, but definitely usable.

  
  


Scourge walked closer to the pit and leaned sideways over the edge with one hand planted on the wall for support, then bent forward and  _ slammed _ her palm into the side of the wall that was turned away from the ledge and overlooked the chasm. She then tugged lightly and was pleased to find that her new “claws” just barely managed to lodge themselves between the rotting, black, bricks. The spaces between each path weren’t long, if she could support her own weight for a few minutes at a time, she’d make it no problem.

With that in mind, she dug her second hand into the wall and hopped off of the platform. Her shoes kicked and scraped at the cracked wall, this part of the maze was somehow in worse condition than the rest that she’d seen, until finally they were able to grip somewhat to the wall.

Already her arms were trembling and ached badly, human muscles didn’t feel anything like havem.exe limbs did under pressure. They had no metal exoskeleton to hold them firmly together until they reached their absolute breaking point, instead it felt like all the bits of fleshy tissue on the inside were about to rip apart piece by piece, until they inevitably fell apart completely. It really sucked.

Despite this Scourge gritted her teeth and started the climb anyway. Falling and losing the tournament were both equally deadly after all. At least falling would save her the humiliation. At least a little bit anyway.

“If my Warriors could see me now… it’d be  _ centuries _ before I could show my face on Guardeon again,” Scourge chuckled breathlessly to herself, sharply yanking one of her wrists and digging it into the wall a little further along to the right. Then did it again, and again, and again. Until she’d settled into a rhythm.

Just as her arms were starting to feel like jelly and her lower back felt like it’d snap, her right arm finally plunged into thin air.

For a split second Scourge’s breath hitched and she slipped a fraction before twisting her arm around and digging into the stone just below her arm’s previous spot. She’d made it to the first platform.

Scrambling eagerly at the bricks, Scourge threw herself onto the flat, dusty, stone floor. ‘That wasn’t so hard,’ she thought to herself as she knelt on the floor.

Looking up she expected to see another doorway, or a room of some kind. However, all she saw was another stone wall. The “pathway” she’d climbed to was really only an indent that lead to a dead end.

“A rest stop,” she noted quietly to herself, panting heavily.

She gave herself a few moments to catch her breathe, and repeated the previous process.

The same result.

She climbed a third time, ignoring the pain and cold wisps of fear that tried to claw its way into her mind.

Again, another dead end.

She was about halfway to the next rest stop when she lost her footing and the full force of her weight was yanked against her aching shoulders and wrists. Thinking it was just a slip, she tried to get a foothold on the wall again. One foot succeeded, the other one was too heavy.

Why was it heavy?

Scourge craned her neck around to try to see what was wrong. What she found made her tense up immediately.

It was a hand.

A boney, grey, hand. Reaching out from the darkness, attached to an arm far too long to be natural. It wouldn’t let go.

Scourge shook and kicked her leg frantically until the hand's grip was shaken loose enough for Scourge to kick aside and regain her footing somewhat. The moment she was free though, a rumbling sound began echoing from deep below. Then it grew steadily louder, and Scourge recognized it as the noise of hundreds of frantic nails scraping against the walls. Climbing ever closer as their disgusting scratches echoed throughout the abyss.

Pain forgotten through what she could only guess was adrenaline, Scourge swung into overdrive, scaling the wall as quickly as she could physically move her limbs, not bothering to consider the integrity of her grip anymore. Brick after brick Scourge could hear the scuttling timer grow closer, the noise accompanied by the sound of her own heartbeat drumming in her ear.

For centuries Scourge had been in near constant mortal danger, but this was the first time she’d ever been in that position without any way to fight back. She was completely helpless for the first time in her life and it felt primal and absolutely horrible. Perhaps this is the feeling that caused humans to cry.

  
  


After what felt like a much longer stretch of time than it probably was, Scourge’s right hand once again plunged into open air. Without even thinking about it Scourge flung herself onto the new platform and landed on all fours as her burning limbs threatened to give out. The adrenaline was reaching the end of its rope and Scourge had lost the fight needed to get back up. Her bracelets flickered and returned to their normal shape.

By this point the hands were just beginning to peak their way over the ledge and Scourge stomach felt like it was going to tie itself into a knot. Slowly she raised her head, completely expecting another dead end to seal her fate.

There, in front of her, was the doorlet. Portal still open and waiting a couple of meters ahead.

A new fire of determination blazed to life inside of Scourge as she staggered agonizingly to her feet, leaning on the left wall for support, as the hands began scratching at the back of her shoes. She ignored them and focused every ounce of her strength onto the doorlet. She was so close and she’d be damned if it all ended before she could punch Zol in the face, and that author forsaken starllynx too, while she’s at it.

The hands continued their attempts at gaining purchase on the backs of her shoes and the fabric of her socks, but Scourge’s pace was just fast enough to keep up with them. Just as Scourge’s legs reached their absolute limit, turning to jelly below her, she took the final step through the portal and everything went black.

**Epilogue**

When she came to, Scourge was laying face down on the ground. She pushed herself shakily to her knees and sat there blinking as her eyes adjusted to the light. Tiny daggers of pain raced through her skull. Once she was aware enough to examine her surroundings she was pleased to find that she was in the plaza, and not the afterlife. A few other creatures who’d made it through were exchanging tired, concerned looks, others were celebrating their own victories.

“Well that was easy,” she snickered.


	2. ROUND TWO

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Okay this one's a bit more violent and less polished than the last, but I got it done! yay!

**Prologue**

The night air was humid, but pleasantly cool in comparison to the scorching heat of the day. Scourge lay drearily on top of her grey bed sheets, staring up at the ceiling. The room around her was gently illuminated by the pale moonlight glimmering in through the open window.

Scourge was used to this, her new body craved sleep but she still had no idea how to activate it. It seemed the harder she tried to will herself unconscious, the more awake she felt, and when she _ did _ manage to fall asleep, she couldn’t remember exactly when or how it happened. It was extremely unsettling as well. Waking up hours into the future as if you hadn’t even existed ten minutes prior.

Dreams sometimes filled the space but those did nothing but confuse and disturb her. It felt like a glitch, and they were often plagued with fears and memories that she’d always been able to ignore while awake.

She didn’t want to see those accusing, purple eyes ever again.

Havem.exe had a sleep mode, but unless you were damaged within an inch of your life, it was completely optional and voluntary. Sleep mode was mostly only used to make long journeys and surgery more bearable. Scourge had always avoided it when possible.

Most nights Scourge fidgeted in bed, sat with her legs dangling out her window, or drew on the walls. She wasn’t very good at the latter. Her previous body didn’t have wrists or functional fingers to draw with, so she didn’t exactly have any practice. However it did well to pass the time when she was too tired to move around.

Eventually, she’d fall asleep, at least on most nights, and she wouldn’t notice until she was woken up. The rest rarely made her feel much better. She felt sick and jittery almost all of the time. Worse yet, she wasn’t sure if it was entirely due to her sleeping habits, or if it was a sign that time was beginning to run out. Zol had never given her any kind of timeframe, she just assumed that they wouldn’t give her the option to compete if they thought she’d die partway through.

How much did Zol really know anyway? They probably seemed ancient and omnipotent to the organic contestants, but Scourge was older than Xol by _ centuries _. She got the feeling that the creatures living here didn’t get out much ether, what could they possibly have learned cooped up in a maze, that Scourge couldn’t in her thousands of years spent travelling the galaxy?

As Scourge’s mind absently lingered on that question, she didn’t notice herself slipping away into a deep sleep.

**Chapter ONE**

When Scourge awoke, her head felt like it’d been replaced with some gross slurry of aching mush. For once she felt completely content to let sleep claim her.

Something was off though. It felt like there was something poking into her face. As Scourge lay there it quickly became apparent that she couldn’t ignore it enough to fall asleep again.

Still only half conscious, it took a tremendous effort to open her dry, crusty eyes. She cringed at the offending sunlight that greeted her, and tried to make sense of her muffled surroundings. As the world gradually clawed its way into focus, the jabbing became more insistent. It felt like a twig being poked into the soft spot under her chin. She heard a voice as well, familiar and very grating.

“Contessstant! Wakey wakey! Hello? Ssssscourge pleasse, I know you’re not dead yet,” the voice persisted, poking her again. The sound made Scourge want to toss its owner out the window. She wanted nothing more than to go back to sleep. Every part of her felt heavy and nauseous.

Groaning, Scourge finally mustered the will to roll onto her side and pushed herself into a slouched sitting position. The poking stopped and Scourge looked up to face its source, if her eyes were visible behind her hair, their glare could freeze an army in place.

In front of her Cuah sat curled on the foot of her bed. Their tail was raised and drawn back as if it’d, for example, just stopped jabbing someone in the face and was just now considering the consequences. Scourge audibly growled and raised her hands, leaning forward to grab at the serpentine creature’s throat.

Cuah pulled their head back, away from Scourge’s reach. “Hey, hey now! Before you do ssssomething we’ll both regret, I thought you should know that the nexssst round is about to begin. You’re the only one that hassssn’t shown up yet.”

Scourge froze, and in one sharp jolt of awareness, completely forgot about her nausea and exhaustion. Of all the days for the next round, it _ had _ to be the one she’d let herself catch up on some biologically required oblivion. The thought of losing a tournament, much less _ dying _, because she’d slept in was unthinkable. She could practically hear Decimal’s reprimands and the little turquoise mech’s jeering laughter.

Scourge practically leapt off of her bed, grabbed her shoes and headset, and tore out of the room.

After collecting some clean laundry, changing so quickly she wasn’t sure if her shirt was on the right way or not, and shoving a fist-full of dry Labyrinth Brand cereal into her face, Scourge breathlessly bolted outside and towards the bustling plaza. Several creatures turned back to look at Scourge as she approached.

Grinding to a halt, she gritted her teeth and took a few deep, controlled breaths to steady her voice. “Hah! Thought you could avoid facing your biggest threat this round, ey?” She announced. Radiating all the confidence of someone who wasn’t almost completely doubled over and already sweating through her shirt.

Determined not to acknowledge her poor shape, she forced herself to straighten up again and flashed the crowd a challenging smirk.

**Chapter TWO**

Scourge burst through the doorlet’s portal and felt her clunky running shoes collide with soft mud, splattering her socks. A doorlet had approached each person to transport them to their challenge, and Scourge was eager to get a good look at the marsh before her competitor.

To her mild disappointment, she couldn’t see much thanks to the thick blanket of fog that enveloped the area. All she was able to make out though, was the small island of mud she was standing on, surrounded by still grey water. When she looked up, she couldn’t even see the sky. The air was warm and damp, just like everywhere else in that Authors-forsaken labyrinth. Scourge was surprised she hadn’t started growing algae on the top of her head by now.

Pulling her feet free from where they’d begun to sink, Scourge stepped forward and inspected the water. It was unnaturally still and almost looked like a sheet of smooth grey ice or stone. Shrugging, Scourge stomped into the shallow water. She felt her feet sink back into the clay and cool water soak through her shoes with a slight chill. It was gross.

Trudging forward, the water grew slightly deeper, and dead trees started to appear, coming into view as she passed them before vanishing back into the grey. The sloshing of the water as Scourge waded through, was the only thing breaking through the engrossing silence.

After a short while Scourge was getting sick of dragging her feet and looked up at the tree next to her. It was probably the tallest she’d seen yet and looked decently sturdy. That was good enough.

Gripping the stump of what was once a tree branch, Scourge hauled herself out of the water and began climbing up the bumpy, crooked trunk. The grey bark was damp and peeling away in places, but after the previous round, it wasn’t a big deal and it didn’t take Scourge long to near the top.

Perching on the thickest branch, Scourge squatted with her hands planted on the mouldy wood below her, while she surveyed her surroundings. As expected, being higher up didn’t make the fog much easier to see through, but it still felt more productive than blindly paddling around.

Scourge began to ponder her next move as she slid back to the trunk when she paused. She’d heard something. It was subtle but she definitely heard the water lap slightly against her tree. It was probably just because her weight had disturbed the tree and made it shake a little. However, it was the only sound she’d heard that she hadn’t directly caused so far.

Eagerly, Scourge slid herself off the tree and jumped down feet first into the marsh. The tree was pretty high up, about thrice her height, but she figured the water and mud would soften her fall enough to prevent any bones from breaking.

The landing was loud and messy, sending mud and water everywhere. The impact caused her legs to give and for her torso to lurch forward, forcing her to plunge both hands into the slimy pool to catch herself.

Scourge braced for a second to collect herself and then stood back up. Her joints were a little sore but she was correct about nothing breaking.

It was then that Scourge felt the water lapping at her legs and looked down to see small waves rippling towards her from the fog. It definitely wasn’t caused by the tree. Bingo! She took off as quickly as the marsh would let her. Her strides sent small explosion of water in all directions. She knew she wasn’t exactly the picture of _ cool _ in that moment, but that couldn’t really be helped.

As she continued she started to hear new sounds, it sounded like two voices so it had to be a team of competitors. Scourge was pretty sure Zol had said the ahuizotl couldn't talk.

She hoped her fluorescent red accessories didn’t alert them before she could make her entrance. Thankfully the fog seemed to suffocate the artificial light.

It didn’t take long for her competitors to come into view. It was the two quadrupedal bird, deer… dog(?) things that she always saw together. The smaller one was treading air with its wings to hover in front of its taller companion, they seemed to be arguing about something.

Thankfully, amongst their bickering, they’d failed to notice Scourge edging closer.

“OFFENSIVE MEASURES DEPLOYED” Scourge’s computer chimed from inside her skull.

Scourge felt her confidence rise as the bracelets around her wrists melted and slid to her palms, where they formed two small daggers. She gripped the handles tight and slowed her pace. She could probably catch one of them by surprise and minimize personal risk, but on the other hand she was finally going to get the fight she’d been waiting for. She didn’t want to taint the experience by taking one of them out the cowardly way.

Once she was fairly close to the duo, positioned just behind the small one and still mostly obscured by the fog, Scourge called out, “Hey, what’s goin’ on over here!” She chuckled wickedly, “can I join?”

The bigger creature snapped to attention immediately and his pelt bristled. The flying one span around so quickly in midair that she almost lost balance.

“Calibre, get behind me! _ Now! _” The big one barked , not taking his eyes off of Scourge.

“Are you kidding? You didn’t listen to a _ thing _ I just said, did you?” The small one, Calibre, retorted. She turned back to face her companion in clear frustration.

“This is _ not _ the time-” the big one started before being cut off.

“This is _ exactly _ the time! Just let me help you Rover!”

Scourge was stood there awkwardly as they went back to bickering amongst themselves. She had no clue what these two were on about but it was clearly some interpersonal drama that had nothing to do with her. It was a little insulting in all honesty. Scourge stepped into view and coughed loudly to regain their attention. Honestly, some people!

Rover glanced over at her before growling back at Calibre, “look! It’s just a human, do you really think I'm that weak?”

Scourge huffed and slouched slightly, this was no fun. She was about to yell and demand their attention when she heard something. It was faint and drowning in the voices of her competitors, but it was there. A low, rumbling voice howling solemnly from the sea of fog. It sounded like it was coming from somewhere behind Rover

Calibre and Rover didn’t seem to notice at first, but as their arguing continued, the howl grew steadily louder, and the water around them began to move in slow waves. They both turned in the direction Scourge was facing as a dark, round shape faded into view.

Almost as soon as all three pairs of eyes were fixed on the ghostly figure, the howl sky-rocketed in volume. It was now a mind-piecing cry that rang out from the fog like a siren. Scourge’s occupied hands flew up to her head as she used her wrists to press her headset harder against her ears. She could see that Calibre and Rover were shaken too. Calibre dropped into the water and used her wings to cover her head as Rover took an alarmed step back.

Was that ahuizotl? It must be!

The cry ended as quickly as it had started, thought silhouette and rolling waves remained the same. The three competitors exchanged looks.

“Pft! Looks like you annoyed _ them _ too.” Scourge jeered, shooting the other two a playful smirk.

Calibre sighed, “alright alright, if this is how it’s gonna play out then I’ll go after the ahuizotl.” She turned to leave before shooting a look back at Rover, “please look after yourself, alright?” Her voice was softer than it had been before. With that she spread her stocky, black wings and took off.

It was just Scourge and Rover now, eyeing each other down. Scourge was jittery with excitement as she lowered into a fighting stance and held her knives at the ready.

Rover bent his head down and charged forward, he was much faster in the water than Scourge, who sidestepped just in time to avoid being skewered by his horns. She’d learned a thing or two from her brief fight with the bull.

As Rover passed Scourge used the split second opportunity to aim one of her daggers into his side. However this clearly wasn’t Rover’s first fight as before she could even make a scratch, he lifted a back leg and kicked her feet out from under her.

Scourge landed on her stomach with a splash. She began to push herself back up but the moment her face was out of the water a weight forced her back down. Rover was trying to drown her!

Scourge always knew suffocating was unpleasant in theory, but she’d never experienced it. Havem.exe didn’t usually have lungs! She could never have expected the primal panic, or the way the water burnt her eyes and nose.

She flailed in an attempt to free herself, but he was far heavier than her and she couldn’t reach far back enough to cut him with the dagger. After a couple of seconds she felt them return to her wrists as bracelets. Her lungs felt like they were collapsing in on themselves and the idea of taking a big breath of dingy water was looking very tempting.

Just as Scourge thought she was finished, the weight suddenly faltered. Taking advantage of this split second weakness, she rolled and the weight slid off of her. Scourge shot up and took several desperate breaths as Rover regained his balance. It was only then that Scourge noticed there was a small amount of blood in the water. It was blooming out from Rover’s front leg.

She didn’t remember doing that, was it there the whole time?

“Fine, drowning people isn’t my style anyway,” he said.

He charged again, this time with his head high, and raised to his back legs as he loomed over Scourge. She rolled away from Rover’s descending claws and threw a fist at him, bracelet activating to form a spiked brass knuckles.

Instead of dodging, Rover clenched his jaws around her wrist and bit down. Thankfully he hadn’t caught her with his sharp canines, but the beak alone stung. Thankfully Scourge had two bracelets, and Rover only had one head.

Scourge used this brief distraction to reform a dagger in her other hand and swung it up at the side of Rover’s neck.

It was over in only a second. Rover froze in realization. Scourge held her gaze, waiting to see how he’d react. The water around them was already as red as Scourge’s weapons.

Rover looked back at Scourge with absolute hatred in his eyes, a look she was used to. She wasn’t fazed.

Scourge left Rover there, he wasn’t dead when she left, but he was on his way there and too weak to stop her. She didn’t stop to gloat to gloat ether, he was a decent opponent, and she respected that.

Thankfully the ahuizotl was still where it had been earlier. Calibre was pleading for its cooperation but the stocky creature didn’t seem overly interested in what she had to say.

As Scourge stepped closer, Calibre looked up in relief, and then horror, as she realised that it was not Rover who was approaching. Then looked down at the bloody trail seeping closer to them.

“What have you down,” she hissed, breaking the silence, and tore past Scourge. Ahuizotl seemingly forgotten.

The ahuizotl in question was about the size of a very large dog. It was round with short, thick legs, and covered in long slimy hair. It looked pretty shaken too.

“You know what I want,” Scourge told it.

Its beady golden eyes widened as it registered the threat. Scourge could still hear Calibre’s enraged howls as it lead her to victory.


End file.
